Both nightcap bar and atmospheric date restaurant, Naïv is the place to be during the weekend for a quick drink or a nice dinner with friends. Their beer menu is bigger than their food menu and they have always great recommendations for you, from small portions to share to bigger seasonal salads. The menu frequently changes, but some specials, like their pulled pork burger and roast beef sandwich, are always offered. My favorite thing is to order is the pulled pork sandwich with their homemade fries and an IPA by my side.
There’s no need to go to Belgium to eat great waffles. Just track down Goose’s food truck, or visit them for lunch at the Villa Leonhard inside the scenic Palmengarten. They offer a weekly menu, and you never know what to expect, except for a great combination of colors, texture and taste. Waffles with asparagus and prosciutto or hummus and ham? Their waffles, both savory and sweet, are as great to look at as they are to eat.
Set inside a historic train station, Lokalbahnhof is the to-do-place for brunch. You will find anything you could wish for: salty and sweet toppings, croissants, bread, bacon … you can even make your own waffles. If you want a quiet place for Sunday brunch, I would avoid it, because parents love to bring their children. But on other days of the week, Lokalbahnhof has a great mix of food, from regional dishes like schnitzel, handkäse, maultashen (pasta stuffed with minced meat, smoked meat, spinach, bread crumbs, onions and various herbs and spices), classic burgers and salads. Everybody from vegetarians to meat lovers will find something to eat. Their burger is really good, but picks the fried potatoes instead of the French fries. For a great dessert, give the kaiserschmarrn (a fluffy shredded pancake) a try. Note: You must order it 20 minutes in advance. The chocolate cake is also delicious!
Surrounded by lush greenery, there is no more beautiful place to enjoy a leisurely breakfast than at The Terrace at Holborn Dining Room. Evoking the design of a quintessential English garden, seasonal flowering plants overflow in willow baskets while classically pruned London Plane Trees form overhead greenery and soft glow lighting offers a subtle backdrop enhancing privacy and intimacy. This British brasserie’s elegant, chandelier-decked space and courtyard offers a traditional British menu, including the Cornish Bacon Chop, Duck Egg & Black Pudding. If you’re looking for comfort food with a modern twist served in rather plushy surrounds, Holborn Dining ticks all the boxes.
Mark Hix’s Soho venture, opened in 2009, boasts a weekly-changing menu of seasonal British food served amid an eclectic collection of mobiles and neons from celebrated British artists in a light and modern dining room. The menu reflects Hix’s signature British featuring oysters from around the British Isles, and a selection of meat and steak on the bone. For bacon lovers, there is nothing better than the Moyallon bacon chop with Isle of Barra clams and purple dew plant.
The Fancy Bacon Roll, with crispy onion-crusted free range poached eggs, back bacon, the Ribman's holy fuck hollandaise and fresh chilli on a paratha roti is a bacon masterpiece. The paratha is moist yet crumbly, there is a seriously generous serving of bacon and, most importantly, you can pimp up the spice levels with the Holy Fuck sauce and slices of fresh chilli. Add to that a slathering of parsley to cool it all back down again, and this roll gives St John’s glorified bacon butty a run for the money.
If you are looking for a nice food market on Saturday in Frankfurt, check out the Markt im Hof. Created a few years ago, Markt im Hof is a half open and half covered area where various food trucks and food stands come together to serve a variety of food. Some of the food stands, like Chez Vivi (crêpes and galette from Bretagne), Die Glücksrolle (Asiatic food, pictured above) and the Apfelweinkontor (apfelwein drinks) are always there. If you are lucky, check out Bully’s Burger Truck for the sweet potato fries. Sometimes Goose is there with its delectable salty waffles. Or, stop at Hoppenworth & Ploch to finish with an unusual taste of coffee. Markt im Hof is the perfect family-friendly place for a Saturday lunch in the middle of Frankfurt.
The nicest way to reach Obsthof am Steinberg is by bike. The roads there are gorgeous and you won’t think you are in Frankfurt anymore. After biking the last hill of the trip, you will feel like you’ve arrived in paradise. The tables are set up outside under the apple trees. They offer apfelwein from various types of apples and you can really taste the difference. That is why the drink menu is pretty long, so try several varieties. The menu showcases typical Frankfurt dishes (handkäse, potato salad, freshly grilled sausages and more. If you are lucky, you may catch a regional orchestra playing in the orchard. And if you want to learn more about artisanal apfelwein, you can join one of their guided tours during the day.
Adolf Wagner is definitely one of the oldest traditional apfelweinwirtschaft in Frankfurt, and one of the best. The apple wine tavern’s rooms are full of old bembel jugs, paintings and tourists. It will be busy and loud, but you will get some tasty grüne soße (green sauce), schnitzel, fried potatoes or even handkäse. Those huge wood tables are made to be shared; it’s part of the culture, as is the rudeness of the waiters. My suggestion is to go there with some friends to share a big apfelwein bembel carafe and a schnitzel, because the portions are enormous. Pro tip: Feel free to mix your apfelwein with some sparkling water to make it less sour.
Proletariat is a family-friendly apfelweinwirtschaft, the kind of old-fashioned tavern you want to spend your evening in. The interior is fully decorated with myriad picture frames, bembel jugs and mirrors on the walls. The apfelwein is some of the best in the city, as is their schnitzel, pounded thin with a crust that breathes with the meat. The menu is mostly composed of various meats with potatoes. But the handkäse (a German regional sour milk cheese) is a great dish to share as a starter with your friends.